Author's Note: For all of you who just go to the newest chapter please note that this is part 2 of chapter 4. The file was too big for me to upload it all at once.

The next morning Will tracked Piper down before her sword fighting lesson.

"Tell me about Drew Tanaka."

Piper swore loudly. "That manipulative, lying bitch." Will recoiled, he had never heard Piper talk like this. He knew she and Drew had a rocky relationship, but he didn't know it was this toxic.

"Um, yeah, that's her. Well she started flirting with me, I rejected her, and now Nico's in one of his moods." Will said.

Piper cringed. "Ooh, rejection. She's not going to like that. But besides the point, why was she flirting with you?"

Will gave her a brief rundown of the day's events as she listened pensively.

"Um, aren't you gay?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, I'm definitely not into her and I want her to stop and leave me alone the question is how."

"Well, the quick solution would be to tell her. It may not be easy, but it will be effective," Piper said. Will grimaced. Coming out was hard enough as it was, but intentionally coming out to someone you barely knew yet despised so much; it nowhere near the top of his to do list.

He considered his options. He could come out and Drew would leave him and he could live in peace with Nico, assuming she would use her Aphrodite wisdom and accept their relationship. Unfortunately it was easier said than done. His other choice would be to do nothing and wait for her to find out in her own, which could take months, and he would have to deal with a cranky, jealous Nico in the meantime.

"Well should I?" He asked.

Piper smiled. "The decision is entirely up to you. It's now my secret to tell. Just think about the outcome in the long run."

"Thanks, see you around," Will said, leaving Piper to start her sword fighting lesson. He thought about his options again and decided that coming out would be the best one. Best to get her out of my life earlier than later, he thought. Only the hard part of actually doing it remained.

"Ugh, I have to go check on the other patients now," Will sighed to Nico in the infirmary after lunch that day. "You're condition is stable and now you just need rest and don't think that I didn't notice you shadow traveling last night. Will the message ever get through to you that it's not healthy? I love you, Nico, but I just need you to stay safe."

"Just doing something for my father," Nico muttered. "But, yeah, love you too." Nico sat up in the bed and brought their lips together.

Contrary to his prescription, Nico did not go to sleep when Will told him to. He rolled over and watched Will walk over to Drew, who managed to get ahold of another diet pill, and threw up in his mouth when she ran her fingers around his boyfriend's collarbone.

Will cast one last desperate glance at Nico before turning his attention to Drew Tanaka. When he approached her she sat up, flattened her hair, and grabbed his shirt to pull him closer.

"Oh Will," he heard her gush for the millionth time that week.

"Stop it. I'm your doctor not your boyfriend!" He snapped, finally losing it and slapping her hand away.

For the tiniest fraction of a second Drew lost her composure abut she gained it back quickly. "But you could be..." She whined, baby doe eyes huge.

Nico found their whole exchange so far entertaining. Will was shutting her down, (though he was slightly pissed he wouldn't just end things easily by coming out) and you could almost hear the insecurity under Drew's charm speak. Though he was revolted at first, when Will swatted her hand away he almost started to believe that he want secretly into her. Almost, but not quite.

"I am happy with my current dating situation," Will said flatly giving Nico, who was now faking sleep a quick glance. "I already said no to you." Will didn't know it it was possible to be anymore direct (actually he did know but he wasn't quite ready for that) while politely rejecting something multiple times.

Nico smiled to himself, glad his boyfriend was loyal to him but his mood instantly changed when Drew grabbed Will's hand and whined, "But you can be happier with me!" He rolled over in bed and forced himself to go sleep before he even got to see Will's reaction.

Frankly, Will was offended when Drew said he could be happier with her. She was judging him without even knowing who he was dating, how much he loved Nico, or really any other details about his personal life. Normally he was a pretty chill guy, but Drew was just the type of person to change that. There was nothing he wanted to do more than stand up to her, only he knew that he would chicken out when it actually came time to do it.

After lunch Nico begged Kayla to release him from the infirmary and she eventually gave in. Immediately he went to go find Will who was taking his break time in the Apollo cabin.

"Anything else happen in the infirmary that I need to know about?" Nico snapped, aggressively grabbing Will's hand and dragging him out of the cabin.

"Nico... This is about Drew again isn't it?" Will sighed. "I rejected her and I already told you I have feelings for you. Only you. She just hasn't stopped yet. You know how she flirts with anyone." He added pitifully.

"Well did anything happen that you need to tell me about?" He asked again.

"No! Nothing happened," Will snapped.

"Fine. Come with me," Nico said, his voice raised. He grabbed his arm and dragged him out into the strawberry fields.

"You know, I really don't have a problem with you being into girls too. I just wish you would tell me," Nico said, staring down his boyfriend.

Will rested his hands on Nico's shoulders and pulled him closer. "Nico, how many times do I have to tell you that I have no feelings for her? These conversations are getting redundant. You saw me reject her!" He tried to stay calm, though his voice may have gotten a certain edge to it by the end.

"I know coming out isn't the easiest thing and I understand stand why you haven't told Drew about me, but you really haven't been making an effort to make her go away. Kinda saying no when her crush on you is blatantly obvious isn't enough," Nico yelled. Their chests were touching, but despite how mad he was, he couldn't bring himself to pull away.

Will had a sudden urge to make out with Nico, but since it definitely wasn't the moment to do so, he yelled back instead. "Yeah, you're right. Coming out is hard," he spat. "If only you acknowledged how hard I am working to get rid of her. Me and Piper talked the whole thing through."

"Oh, so you're with Piper now to?" Nico really didn't think that Will would ever do anything scandalous with Piper but he felt like fighting so he did.

"Gods, Nico. Piper? Of all people? Who is happily dating Jason, no we're just friends," Will said, throwing his arms in the air.

"Yeah I know, but what about Drew? She is not happily dating anybody and wants more than friendship. What are you going to do now?" Nico taunted.

Will was done arguing and gave Nico a quick, passionate kiss. "I love you, I wish you would stop doubting me."

Nico returned the kiss but did not initiate another one. "Me too." He whispered. After standing there for a moment with his head resting on his boyfriend's shoulder he walked away. "I have to get ready for dinner now," he said without looking back.

Except Nico didn't show up for dinner or the next day. Will did his work without emotion and tried to avoid Drew. After two days he finally knocked on the door of the Hades cabin.

Nico rolled over in his bed to face the wall. It wasn't until Will knocked again five minutes later did he let him in. "What do you want?" He grumbled.

"I just thought we could spend the day in here together," Will said. He hated the demeanor of the Hades cabin, but he wasn't about to force his boyfriend outside and risk another fight.

"Whatever," Nico said. He got out of bed and sat down on the couch with his boyfriend.

"I'm really sorry about the whole Drew thing," Will finally said after a moments silence.

"Yeah I know," Nico said. He leaned against his shoulder and in that moment they had made a silent pact not to mention Drew against.

"Come on, let's watch a movie," Will said. Though it was only 10 a.m. he walked over to Nico's small collection of DVDs and picked out 300. It was about Ancient Greece, something they both had in common.

Will leaned into Nico and kissed his cheek. "It will be a good day," he whispered. Nico smiled and draped an arm across his shoulder and they watched the movie.

"That was good, wasn't it?" Will cooed as the credits rolled. He ruffled Nico's hair an got up and sat on his bed.

Honestly Nico liked Will being overly nice. He knew that he was doing it to make up for the past few days and would return to normal within the weeks, but he still thought it was sweet. He went and sat down on Will's lap.

Will didn't even bother hugging him or stroking his arm he went right in for the kiss. He wanted their relationship to get past the post-fight awkwardness and pick up where it left off in New Rome. He pushed Nico down and straddled his hips and started exploring his mouth with his tongue.

Nico, who was slightly alarmed my this sudden advance, returned the gesture. Though it had only been 24 hours, he missed making out. Will's hands were soon makings their way up his shirt and he slipped a finger under his boyfriend's belt.

Nico abruptly pulled away and pushed Will off of him.

"Seriously? We almost broke up two days ago and now you want to have sex?" Nico said. It pained him how true his words were. "We're still pretty young and I don't think our first time should be so spontaneous,"
He added snarkily.

"Really Nico!? You thought I wanted sex? Yeah I agree, we're too young. Maybe I was just pulling you closer," he retorted.

"You know what? I'm tired," Nico snapped. "Maybe I just wanted to sleep in my cabin all day."

Will was slightly hurt by this, but he didn't let it show. "Fine. I'll just stay here with you." He curled up against Nico's chest so he was spooning him. Nico fluffed his hair like he did in the good old days and they napped until dinner time.

The dining was buzzing with excitement the next morning during breakfast. The demigods stranded on the side of the road were finally back.

"Hey Will. Hey Nico," Annabeth said, joining than along with Percy, Jason, and Piper. "How has your week been?"

"It's been great!" Jason said, wrapping an arm around Piper's waist. "We went into the city, built more shrines, talked to Reyna and Frank via Iris message..."

"Cool. I'd love to hear the details later, but how have you been doing Nico?" She said.

"We've been fine," Nico said tightly. Will flashed a big smile and Nico awkwardly did too. Though they made up their relationship was still tense.

"Well we actually came over to tell you about the party Chiron is throwing to celebrate our return from New Rome," Percy said excitedly, giving Annabeth a big wet kiss on the cheek which earned him sharp glare.

"Oh yeah! I heard about that," Drew squealed, suddenly appearing next to Will. "There will be music, dancing, food… It will be a ton of fun."

"And all head counselors will be required to go," Piper said glaring at Nico.

"No getting out of it," Jason added.

Nico stomach did a backflip. Dances were the social event that he tried the hardest to avoid in school. There was lots of intimacy and PDA; not exactly the most comfortable place for a mostly closeted gay guy. Did Will expect him to go as a date or a 'friend'?

"Well I gotta go now. See ya Will!" Drew said before blowing him a kiss and running back to the Aphrodite table.

Jason raised his eyebrows and uneasy glances were shared within the group.

"Nothing happened," Will said. "Nico, your going with me right?"

"If I'm being forced to go, yeah," he said, lacing his fingers through Will's (under the table away from unwelcome stares).

"You are being forced to go and you will come with me," Will hissed playfully in his ear.

Their conversation was cut short when Chiron stepped up to the podium. He stomped his hoof once and the hall quieted at once. "Attention Camp Half-Blood. As you may have noticed, everybody is back from New Rome and to celebrate I will be throwing a whole camp party in the Big House for the first time ever!" Chiron said, earning a loud cheer. "Getting back to business. Due to security reasons, the head counselor of every cabin must attend even if your cabin has only one person." Nico swore the last part was directed towards him; Jason and Percy don't need extra convincing to go.

Nico sank in his chair and Will smirked at him. He thought that Piper was just saying that to get him to go and was a was disappointed when she was right. Sure he was glad for another opportunity to hang out with Will, but honestly he would rather hang out with him privately.

The party was all every one talked about for the next few days. Most particularly the dance and who was going with who. Percy and Annabeth predictably were the power couple, with Piper and Jason close behind. Lou Ellen and Cecil claimed they were just going as friends but Will knew there was something more going on between them. There were also a few surprising couples, who probably won't stay together long term, like Clovis and Kayla. Jason thought that Nico and Will were cuter than the first year campers dubbed 'cutest couple', but since they weren't out yet he only talked about them with Piper.

It irked Nico how big of a deal people were making out of it. Will complained about them not being a thing because Nico wanted to stay closeted to most of the camp (though really it was part of his big plan to make Drew realize the nature of his and Nico's relationship from an slow increase of public displays of affection).

"So you're coming as my date right?" Will said hanging out in the Hades cabin a few hours before the dance. He decided he just wanted to come out already, but being the good person he was he was respecting his boyfriend's wishes and keep their relationship private. After giving it a few days of thought he realized it wasn't really about Drew anymore (she was starting to get bored but she hadn't given up yet). It was about himself. He felt like he would be happier and have more fun if he didn't feel the need to hide his relationship from other campers who were only acquaintances.

"Yes. But we won't let it show," Nico said determinedly. He wanted Drew to know that Will had no attraction to girls, but not the whole camp. Too many people who's reactions he was unsure about.

"Fine. Just let me kiss you one more time before you insist we can't even hold hands unless we're around Jason and the rest of the Seven," Will said leaning in for the kiss.

The music was loud enough to piles through everyone's veins. The lights were low and a disco ball spun overhead. Everyone was dancing and laughing, and even Nico who was swaying to the beat, was enjoying themselves.

"Come on, just one dance?" Will begged. "No one will make a big deal out of it. It's not even to a slow song."

Nico crossed his arms across his chest. "You think I know how? You know dancing's not really thing."

"It's not that hard. Just move to the rhythm of the music." Will said. He dragged Nico over to where Percy and Annabeth were standing and said, "We need to teach Nico how to dance."

"Ok. It's really not that hard. You just need to know a few songs with particular moves but otherwise just do what feels right," Percy said. "Need a demonstration?"

Without waiting for an answer Percy pulled Annabeth closer and started grinding.

"No thanks," Nico said promptly turning away.

"We don't have to do it like that. Just follow me," Will said dramatically grabbing his boyfriend's waist and almost knocking him over.

Nico awkwardly rested his hands on Will's shoulders. They were shielded from the rest of the group by Percy and Annabeth but Nico still felt strangely exposed. Will was smiling and shuffling him along in their corner.

"Relax, Nico," Will whispered sensually into his neck.

Nico took a deep breath and dropped some of the tension in his shoulders, but he was still positive dancing wasn't his thing. "You know what? I'm hungry. Let's check out the snack bar."

They stepped away from each other and walked over to the punch bowl. Will was proud of himself for getting a twenty second dance out of Nico. Now his goal was to dance with him to a slow song. Unfortunately this goal is achieved.

"Heyyy Will…" Drew said coming out of nowhere. "Let me get you some punch." She winked and served Will a cup of the fruity drink.

"I uh, really don't need any," Will said glancing at Nico and sending him a 'rescue me' look.

"I'm going to borrow him for a couple songs, ok," Drew said, her sickly sweet voice washing over Nico.

Before he could free himself from her charmspeech he found himself saying, "Okay." Ten seconds later he called out "Will come back," into the crowd, but it was no use because they were too far away and the music was too loud.

Will violently pulled his hand out of Drew's and frantically started looking for Nico. He feared all night that something like this would happen. He was glad for the opportunity to dance. However, he was not glad it was with Drew. It seemed like the second he pulled his hand away, Drew took it as an invitation to wrap his arm around his waist.

Nico watched in horror as Drew danced with his boyfriend. He felt abandoned, like he had for so many years after Bianca died. Just a few weeks after he and Will declared their love for each other, the hole in his heart had been ripped open again. He thought they were exclusive, yet here he was watching Will dancing with a girl. Forgetting the look of disgust on Will's face as Drew twirled him around and his claims that he wasn't into girls, Nico left the dance in rage.

"I have to go," Will said. "Uh, bathroom," he lied.

Drew reluctantly let him go and whispered, "Nice dancing with you. Want to get it on later tonight in my cabin?"

Will turned away revolted and slipped away without answering. He saw Nico run outside and followed him. He cursed himself. If Nico wasn't back in his cabin and decided to shadow travel away forever he was screwed. He had to explain.

Will pounded on the door of the Hades cabin. "Nico! You know that I was forced into that. Just let me in!" He yelled.

"I saw what happened. You said you weren't into her and you lied. One of my criteria for dating is exclusively," Nico shouted through the door.

Ouch. That hurt. Will leaned against the closed door a single tear rolling down his face. "I love you Nico. I just wish you listened to me when I told you I have no feelings for her," he said lowering his voice.

"I'm going to bed. We'll talk when this whole Drew thing clears up," Nico said. "Just give me some time."

Dejected Will walked back to the Apollo cabin.

-

Author's Note: There is going to be one more chapter and maybe an epilogue if I get a good idea for one. Don't worry it won't end on this sad note! Again, thanks for reading.